THE WEST COAST

Having seen quite a lot of Agrigento Province both inland and on the coast, we drove west to Mazara Del Vallo, Marsala and up the salt road to Tripani. There were a few specific things we planned to see, starting with the Dancing Satyr in Mazara. The bronze which is one of the most significant recent discoveries was caught in the nets of local fishermen in the Sicilian Channel in 1998 and a museum has been created to house it. This city is a fishing port and has had a strong Arab influence and is much wealthier than the places we have been thus far. After wandering in a few of the alleys and piazzas we found the museum, as we bought our tickets the lady said “Sorry, the Satyr isn’t here, it is on loan to the British Museum”. Damn! So we watched a film instead a little disappointed we wondered further. Almost immediately our spirits were lifted when we came across a wonderful little theatre that we knew nothing about.

This theatre constructed entirely of wood in a horseshoe shape has two person boxes surrounding about 60 seats with standing room in the “Gods” which makes it very intimate. As are many streets, palazzios and buildings in every town it is named after that man “Garibaldi”. A little further up the coast is the city of Marsala, home to the fortified wine of the same name and very similar in feel to Mazara. Due to the wine and salt industry it is one of the richer cities in Sicily and as this photo shows, the origins were around 500 BC but the Duomo is relatively new.

Next stop and item number two on the “ must see” list was the Island of Mozia which sits roughly a mile off the coast of the salt pans where the old windmills still pump the water using the Archimedes Screw and the salt is stored under roof tiles beside the main road. It is a short ferry ride across a shallow lagoon to the Phoenician Colony (800 BC) of Mothia. The island was restored by the Archeologist Joseph Whitaker of the Marsala wine merchant family and what was his home is now a museum. In 1979 the Youth of Mozia was discovered in the Sanctuary. This marble statue of Greek origin dates from 440 BC and it is a unique piece. It is the first known sculpture of that era which is not naked the model was draped with a semi transparent gown which created a sensuality not seen before. However, we only know this from the pictures because as we purchased our tickets the man said, “I’m sorry, the statue is not here, it is in London!” Double damn! So if you are in London and have a chance to visit the British Museum please tell us about these pieces!

We finished a long but very interesting day in Trapani but only had time for a short stroll down the lovely pedestrian avenues in the centre where the architecture was stunning and the shops were like Bond Street.